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01 Apr 2015 9:05:17am

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I think there's a lot to be said for moment's of rare humanity to be drawn from Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott's departures among others, especially when the latter turned to Ms Gillard and said "your father would be proud".

I think the change of leader does have the salutary positive effect of bringing policy back into focus in the runup to the impending election. But I think that would have been the case no matter who in incoming PM was.

On the other hand I don't know that there's much moral vindication in the shuffling of deckchairs that's clearly designed to save the furniture. The choice of Rudd, remembering that Shorten was also mooted to challenge, probably comes about because few others were as keen to chance their political careers in the face of seemingly certain defeat. Losing Labor leaders are not known to have a high survival rate.

I don't think that the real measure of what has occurred can be had until we know whether this supposed "vindication" comes with a raft of better policy directions.